Payments for goods or services (e.g., transactions) can involve a variety of payment options such as, in some examples, cash, credit card, check, money order, and online debit account (e.g., PayPal™ by eBay Inc. of Palo Alto, Calif.). More recent payment options include a virtual wallet application provided through a mobile computing device such as a smart phone. An example of a virtual wallet is Google wallet by Google of Menlo Park, Calif. A pre-paid card, such as a service or product-specific debit card, may also be used to pay for certain transactions, such as a public transit debit card.
Collection of transactional data is an increasingly important factor in designing marketing strategies. One method involves analyzing, on a macro level, electronic purchases such as credit card purchases. For example, transactional data may be analyzed using the traditional banking system which operates through a clearing system to manage electronic transactions involving a client bank account. In another example, information collected from online commerce may be used to monitor transactions. Another option involves the purchase of specialized point of sale equipment, where the equipment manufacturer offers a service and/or system collects and provides information regarding transactions. However, in an entity involving multiple locations, potentially in geographic diverse regions and frequently under various management structures, managing an overview of transaction data collected from each of the multiple locations can prove difficult if not impossible. A further method for tracking transactional behavior involves customer loyalty programs, often requiring a customer to provide personal information at point of sale (e.g., telephone number) or requesting a loyalty card be swiped or scanned to identify the customer. The loyalty program, while beneficial in tracking a portion of the sales, provides no insight into transactions involving customers who are not members of the loyalty program or who decline to provide identifying information such as a telephone number.